Twenty-Five Miners is a ballad like poem by Fr. Ron...(more)
Twenty-Five Miners is a ballad like poem by Fr. Ron MacIntyre (who hails from Dominion Nova Scotia) and was composed and sung by Mike Madigan of the Sharecroppers. The file footage was compiled by Mr. Geoff Sterling of NTV who used some dramatic but heartfelt news footage from the Westray Mining Disaster as well as other mining themes like the mines at Bell Island, Newfoundland. The poem by Fr Ron is quite vivid. Read them as you listen to the song. The last line is especially poignant. ~Mike Madigan
Twenty-Five Miners
I remember the day the explosion ripped the mine,
There were twenty-five miners working to make their time;
They had worked all night at the coal-face trying to earn their bread,
When a rumble in the earth left each one filled with dread.
They were standing at the bottom just waiting to catch the trip,
They were laughing and joking and gripping their pails in their grip;
When a rumble in the earth stopped their laughter,
Sending fear into their bones.
And the first thought that they had was: "Dear ***, get me home."
The rumble got stronger and then it started to roar,
The twenty-five miners fell on their face to the floor;
They heard the roaring get stronger as it moved up from the deep,
And twenty-five widows would stand at the pit and weep.
(musical interlude)
